Grey imports are spreading like some wild virus right through the UK. Shops popping up out of nowhere full of all kinds of strange and wonderful machinery. No wonder the official importers are screaming their heads off in despair. Take the 650 Savage, for instance, priced at nearly four grand new. In the dealers there was a 400 version going for £1400 - two years and 4000 miles old. My rat C90 was looking distinctly like dead meat...
A 400cc thumper with mild custom style will not be to certain tastes but after a step-thru even an MZ looked promising. The Suzuki was bright orange, contrasted with lots of chrome and alloy. With a 25.5 inch seat height it felt more like a skateboard than a motorcycle. Being short of arm rather than leg, my thighs were all crunched up whilst my hands were held aloft on the high and wide bars as if in prayer to some particularly perverse god. This took a few weeks of adaptation, before the pains went away in my thighs, but it took narrower, flatter bars to stop me feeling like I was on the rack.
The bars helped performance. God knows it needed all the help it could get. The four valve OHC thumper mill made all of 24 horses at 7000 revs, although it seemed happiest at around 5000rpm. Higher revs resulted in some thrumming and below 3000 revs it seemed like it was gasping for breath. This might be explained by the engine still running carb settings suited to Japan rather than the UK or it might merely be a compromise in the engine sharing many parts between 400 and 650cc versions, the bigger engine obviously needing more hefty components with resultant frictional losses when employed in the 400. Perhaps the strangest aspect was the lack of an oil-cooler, given Suzuki's expertise in using oil as an engine coolant and the possibility of thus tweaking the motor for extra performance.
With the flatter bars the Savage was happy enough cruising along at 70 to 75mph but there was sod all power in hand to take cars on the motorway. A particular difficulty as most of the cages wanted to zoom along at 80 to 90mph. Often, I ended up stuck behind some prick towing a wobbling caravan. Rather frustrating.
Stability was surprisingly good. The 350lbs wasn't easily chucked around by howling gales or large pot-holes and its suspension had an almost magical ability to soak up minor bumps whilst not turning the bike into a big blancmange. A fidelity unusual in a custom, a lot of it down to the way the narrow single cylinder engine is mounted lowly in the frame.
Ground clearance ain't prodigious and the Savage has a disinclination to turn into curves - much preferring to ride straight on into oblivion. This, I guess, is the reason why Suzuki fitted such wide bars. I soon became used to the muscle needed to throw it around, though, often had the exhaust digging into the tarmac on right-handers.
The bike was inflicted with damn silly forward mounted pegs that practically had my feet on the front wheel spindle. This looked fine when paddling down the High Street but when trying to get my elbow down I found I couldn't really keep a firm grip on the machine. The further it went over, the more I felt like I was going to fall off the bike!
I know, if I wanted something that could be flung around like a race replica I shouldn't have bought a custom but the cheapness and simplicity of the Suzuki had got to me. The pillion pegs are carried on the swinging arm but too close to the seat to be of use to a rider, such as myself, with long legs.
Because the pillion seat is raised you have to make sure that anyone carried out back is a lot shorter than the rider, otherwise they end up towering over the pilot, making them look damn silly. Which is stupid on a pose mobile. Comfort, with regards to the sumptuous seat, is good, but, as mentioned, you need to adapt your body around the odd pegs and bars.
After a couple of months, bike and I became fine friends. Starting was reliable and easy, the bike plodding around with total fidelity. Fuel was around 70mpg - 140 miles before I had to worry about filling up. The Jap tyres didn't seem to wear but had reasonable grip on wet roads. The belt drive needed little adjustment and turned the usually slick Suzuki gearbox quite sublime!
The combination of a lack of performance and odd riding position, after about four months, began to get at me. No doubt, if I hadn't been shooting around on a step-thru I would've been pissed off a lot sooner, but the Suzuki had a relative sophistication and ease of use that the little Honda couldn't hope to match.
There followed a period of abuse and neglect, which included not changing the oil for about 5000 miles over a six month period. Did the thumper complain? Nope, it just kept thrumming away happily as if it didn't have a care in the world. The vast majority of modern Japanese engines are bullet-proof, their technology and production engineering finesse so far ahead of the game that it's almost impossible to compete with them.
By the end of the first year the machine was looking a little ratty. White fur on the engine alloy, rust on the paint and chrome, and an engine with a disturbing top end rattle despite the clock reading a mere 14,500 miles. The rattle was a couple of loose rockers that were soon sussed. The alloy was reluctant to clean up but I got there in the end. The rust wiped off, revealing a pristine finish underneath. It just seemed to seep out of the chrome and paint without lifting it off. More like a dread disease than anything else.
The bike thumped up to 18000 miles when performance became even more reluctant than normal. Fuel was down to an expensive 45mpg and a smog of oil followed us everywhere as if the engine was trying to imitate a stroker. Engine out, head and barrel off - the oil ring was gummed up. Sprayed it with WD40, let it soak in for a couple of hours, and managed to prise the ring off. Cleaned it all up and put it back together. Economy and performance returned.
Took that as a hint to trade in for something newer. Got £1250 off the £2500 cost of a very nice Honda CB-1. In retrospect, perhaps the 650 version is the better buy. If you can get one at a decent price.
Malcolm Bright